Safety razor



Oct. I9, 1945. A N. TESTI 2,386,727v I SAFETY RAZOR Filed July 7, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet l Z0 /zz oct. 9, 1945.

N. TESTI SAFETY RAZOR Filed July '7, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 9, 1945 SAFETY RAZOR Nicholas Testi, Boston, Mass.,assgnortoGillette Safety Razor Company, Boston, Mass., a coryporation ofv Delaware Application lJuly 7,1944, Serial No.543,767

3 Claims.

Thisinven'tion relates to safety razors of the type having cooperating blade-clamping 'members between which thin replaceable blades are clamped and supported adjacent both of its cutting 4edges for shaving.

In one aspect, the invention consists in a socalled one-piece razor, that isto say, a razor to which a fresh blade may be supplied and from' which a'used blade may be removed withoutV detaching 'any of `the blade-clamping members. Such a razorhas 'no loose parts that are likely to be dropped'or mislaid. It is Va one-piece razor in thisA sense,'although made up of separate parts which are cap-able of being detached from time to time for special inspection Yor cleaning.

The improved razor of myinvention is adapted and designedfor'use with open-endj-blades, that is to say blades having ya central'longitudinal slot opening'through one of .the unsharpenedend edges of the blade. The razor includes the usual means by which the two blade-clamping members maybe positively clamped together with a blade between them. -It also includes a spring arranged to Vdraw the blade-clamping members together vwith a limited yielding 4pressure When they are released from positive blade-clamping engagement. .It is the action of this spring in permitting a yielding separation of the bladeclamping members to a limited extent that enables the user to-introduce an'open-end blade between the blade-clamping members against ret-arding pressure of the blade clamping members, and similarly .to remove a used blade. Byy exerting a slight and entirely convenient amount of force, Vthe user may readily cause thefblade to separate the clamping members sufliciently to admit Lthe blade, and in the same manner may overcome the yielding resistance to removal ex.' erted by the blade-.clamping members upon the blade. i

'is-adaptedtofbefused.

member 'from beneath and also indicating a blade (in dotted lines) `being introduced .beneath the cap.

Theillustrated razor, in its `general construction, is ofthe Gillette type. in that itincludes' Acooperating cap and guard members shaped-to Y impart 'transverse curvature `to a 'flexible blade presented between :them and to clamp and supportthe blade in that condition 'for shaving. It will be understood, however, that the invention is knot restrctedto that 'orto anyparticular type of safety razorbut with suitable modifications may-be'embodied in anysafety razor employing replaceableblades.

The razor asherein'shown is designed to emshown in Fig. 5; This blade l0 is 'generally rectangular 1in outline and provided 'in each of .its four cornersv vvwith a reentrant notch. The

y 20 notchesfatjone vend ofthe blade define Van elongated lunsharpened lend and hinge :portion Il.

The fblade issh'arpened'along both longitudinal edges andprovided at'its other endl with an open elongated unsharpened end portion'Z. The'open `end 2fof -theblade is divided byac'entral'long- Vtudin-al slot r3 and'thisslot is provided centrally witha circular enlargement lor aperture M for thefcap spindle and with intermediate'enlargements f5 shaped'to-tl corresponding blade-.locating projections of other-razorsin'which the'blade The-razor herein illustrated lin certain details of its 'structurelis adapted to accommodate the illustrated blade, Aand it vwill -be understood that for handling 'blades of diferent outline corre- -fsponiin-gf changes in the construction ofthe razor These and other features of the invention willv be bestunderstood and appreciated fromthe folmay be-made, all within the scope of the present invention. I

The blade-supporting -or guard 'member IB `of the razor present-s an l upper blade-engaging face I of convex contour `having i outwardly Aand ydownv'flexed in shaving position. 'The guard member Fig. 5 is a view in perspective showing the cap 55 also has =a central perforation I9 and is rigidly connected-'to aferrulej permanentlytting 'at its lowerend Within the upper end of'a sleeve or barrel 2l which forms the handle of the razor.

The cap member 22 is slightly narrower than the guard member. It is provided with a bladeengaging face concave in transverse curvature and has outer edges which are wider apart than the fulcrum shoulders I8 of the guard member.

It is provided with a central medial blade-locating rib 23 from which projects a spindle 24 threaded at its lower end. The spindle 24 ts freely within the ferrule 20 of the handle. The cap is entirely unobstructed at its ends and, in fact, is slightly beveled at each corner to facilitate the introduction of a blade beneath it.

In addition tofthelferrule and the `sleeve 2|, the handle includes an elongated tubular nut 25 having a hollow stem that fits freely within the barrel 2l and is provided with an annular shoulder 26 at a point some distance above or within the knurled end of the nut 25. Above the shoulder 26 extends a sleeve portion 21 of reduced thickness which is internally threaded at its upper end to engage the lower threaded end of the cap spindle 24. A long annular chamber is thus formed between the inner wall of the barrel 2|` and the outer wall of the reduced sleeve 21 of the tubular nut. A long compression spring 28 occupiesthis annular chamber, bearing at its upper end against the lower end of the ferrule -20 and at its lower end upon the shoulder 26 of the tubular nut. By its downward pressure the spring 28 tends at all times to depress the stem 24 threaded into the' nut and to urge the cap member yieldingly toward the guard member.

The pressure of the spring is such as to maintain the blade l0 yieldingly engaged between the razor. Its lengthA is such that when the stem 24 is released by a turn or a turn-and-a-half of the nut 25, the yielding pressure of the bladeclamping members on the interposed blade is just suliicient to retain the latter in whatever position it is' left between them, and to permit it to beadvanced or retracted against the yielding frictional pressure thus exerted upon it.

In practice, the blade I0 may be rigidly clamped for shaving, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, by rotating the nut 25 in a clockwise direction to the limit ofits movement and thus positively drawing down the cap 22. When it is desired to remove the blade, the nut 25 may be turned re- Aversely for one to one-and-a-half turns. The

threaded sleeve 21 is thus slightly lowered upon the threaded end of the spindle 24 and the length of the annular chamber between it and the barrel 2l correspondingly lengthened. The spring 28, however, prevents any substantial lifting of the cap 22 but maintains it yieldingly in practically the same'position in which it was formerly retained positively by its threaded connection with k the nut 25. Under these conditions the cap 22 is free to be lifted or the two blade-clamping members are free to be separated against the compression of the spring 28. This reduces the pressure upon the interposed blade to an extent permitting it to be yieldingly withdrawn by the user from between the two blade-clamping members. Similarly after cleaning and drying,rthe used blade or a fresh blade may be forcibly advanced between the two blade-clamping members displacing them sufficiently to permit the movement of the blade.

When a blade is inserted between the cap and guard members, its open end straddles the 4blade-locating rib 23 as suggested in Fig. 5 and the two sharpened side portions of the blade pass on opposite sides of the rib until the advancing movement of the blade is arrested by the engagement of the inner end of the slot I3 with the left-hand end of the rib 23. The blade is thus gauged in its correct longitudinal position in the razor.

The blade' may be presented by hand to the razor by the user or it may conveniently be delivered from a magazine of the character shown in `my copending application Ser. No. 461,702,

filed` October l2, 1942, now Patent No. 2,359,807. That magazine is provided with flanges which engage the used blade in the razor when the magazine is brought into operative relation with the razor and initially displace the used blade. That blade is, accordingly, held under yielding pressure by the cap until the fresh blade is advanced from the magazine by operating its feed slide. The yielding pressure ofthe cap insures accurate registration of the advancing blade with the end of the blade it is to eject from the razor and replace.

Having thus disclosed my invention and described in detail an illustrative embodiment thereof, I claim as new and desire to secure by p Letters Patent:

1. A safety razor having in combination, a

guard of convex contour unobstructed at both ends, a tubular handle secured thereto, a cap of concave contour, a threaded stem attached thereto and telescopically received in said handle, a' tubular nut rotatable in said handle and shouldered, thereby forming an annular chamber in the handle, a blade-locating projection disposed between the ends of the cap, and a spring in said chamber normally urging the cap and guard together with a yielding pressure permitting the insertion or withdrawal of an open-end blade, and threaded connection between the nut and the stemof the cap for drawing'the cap positively into blade-clamping position without substantial displacement of the spring. f 2. A safety razor having, in combination, a rigidly-connected handle and guard, a cap cooperating with the guard being unobstructed at both of its ends, a blade-locating rib immovably fixed to one of said co-operating members and located between the same, a spring associated withsaid handle normally urging the cap and guard together with a yielding pressure permitting the insertion or withdrawal of an open-end blade, the blade straddling said rib, and means for. moving the cap and guard positively into blade-clamping relation.

3. A'safety razor having, in combination, cap

NICHOLAS TESTI. 

